Send a message to a patient

API reference

Send a message to a patient

Request

Send a SMS or eMail to a patient on behalf of a practice.
No other messaging channels are currently supported for sending communications via the API.
Please note, access to this API is provisioned by a Dentally admin.

Security

oauth2(Required scopes: communication:write)

X-Practice-Idstring, (uuid)required

UUID of the practice in whose context the request is executed. The API uses this to resolve data the caller is permitted to access for that practice.

Bodyapplication/jsonrequired

Details of the communication to send to a patient.

patient_idstring, (uuid)required

ID of the patient who is the intended recipient of the communication.

communication_channelstringrequired

Value:"sms"

Discriminator

message_typestring(communication-message-type)required

The different types of communications that can be sent to patients.

Enum Value	Description
appointment_reminder	Communication sent to remind a patient of an upcoming appointment.
appointment_confirmation	Communication sent to confirm a patient's appointment booking.
appointment_cancellation	Communication sent to notify a patient of an appointment cancellation.
task_reminder	Communication sent to remind a patient of a task they need to complete (e.g., fill out a form).
feedback_request	Communication sent to request feedback from a patient after an appointment or interaction.
marketing	Communication sent for marketing purposes, such as promotions or newsletters.
estimate	Communication sent to provide a patient with an estimate for a treatment or procedure.
invoice	Communication sent to provide a patient with an invoice for services rendered.
fta	Communication sent to notify a patient of a missed appointment (FTA = "Failure To Attend").
recall	Communication sent to recall a patient for follow-up care or routine check-ups.
patient_reply	Communication that is a reply from a patient, which may be received via certain channels and logged in the system.
payment_request	Communication sent to request payment from a patient for a deposit or outstanding balance.
medical_history	Communication sent to request or provide information about a patient's medical history.
unclassified	Communication that does not fit into any of the other predefined categories.

site_idstring, (uuid)

The ID of the site associated with the communication.

Example:"123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174089"

bodystring, <= 1600 charactersrequired

The main plain text content of the SMS message.

Example:"Your appointment is scheduled for tomorrow at 3 PM."

curl -i -X POST \
  https://docs.api.dentally.com/_mock/docs/versions/2026-01-01/nexgen/communications \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Practice-Id: 497f6eca-6276-4993-bfeb-53cbbbba6f08' \
  -d '{
    "patient_id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "communication_channel": "sms",
    "body": "Your appointment is scheduled for tomorrow at 3 PM.",
    "message_type": "appointment_reminder",
    "site_id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174001"
  }'

Responses

Response after sending a communication.

Bodyapplication/json

dataobject(resource_timestamps)required

Object containing the ID of the communication that was sent.

Response

{
  "data": {
    "created_at": "2024-01-15T09:30:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2024-06-20T14:05:22Z",
    "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174005"
  }
}